Class 5 Photonics

Class 5 Photonics GmbH operates at the forefront of the high-power laser market, providing specialized systems for scientific and research applications. The company was established in 2014 as a spin-off from the German Electron Synchrotron (DESY) and the Helmholtz-Institute Jena. The founding team includes Dr. Robert Riedel (CEO) and Dr. Michael Schulz (President), who transitioned from their doctoral and post-doctoral work at DESY to lead the company. Their academic research on high-power, short-pulse lasers and frequent requests for their designs directly inspired the formation of the company.

The core of the company's offering is its Optical Parametric Chirped Pulse Amplification (OPCPA) technology. This technology merges two amplification methods to amplify ultrashort femtosecond pulses to high energies at high repetition rates. A key feature is the direct white light generation from femtosecond lasers, which eliminates complex oscillators and allows for a more compact system footprint. The business model centers on designing, manufacturing, and selling these high-performance laser systems to research institutions and, increasingly, to industrial clients. The primary client base consists of researchers in fields like attosecond science, molecular physics, multiphoton microscopy, and material science who require stable, high-specification laser systems for experiments that were previously not feasible.

Class 5 Photonics' product portfolio includes the flagship 'Supernova OPCPA' and the compact 'White Dwarf OPCPA' series. The 'Supernova' delivers over 100 W average power with millijoule pulse energies, targeting energy-intensive applications in physics. The 'White Dwarf' is a smaller system, notable for its 80x80 cm² footprint. These products serve demanding applications such as bio-imaging, advanced spectroscopy, and EUV/XUV imaging and metrology. The company has received multiple accolades, including the SPIE PRISM Award in 2018 for its 'Supernova' product, which recognized its impact on the laser industry.

Keywords: high-power lasers, femtosecond lasers, optical parametric chirped pulse amplification, OPCPA, ultrafast lasers, laser systems, DESY spin-off, attosecond science, multiphoton microscopy, laser technology, spectroscopy, EUV sources, XUV sources, bio-imaging, material science, nonlinear optics, tunable lasers, high-harmonic generation, Robert Riedel, Michael Schulz